Event Description

“Who Killed Reality? An Exploration of Nihilism through Four American Films”

Sunday, March 24, 2019

5:30-7:30pm

801 Ladera Lane Santa Barbara CA 93108

Classroom G

Free & Open to the Public

In this presentation Dr. Kemp re-imagines the dehumanizing trends of modern history through four contemporary film narratives: There Will Be Blood, Apocalypse Now,American Psycho, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Through this mythological history he explores the psychopathologies behind our current social, political and economic crisis in an attempt to answer the central philosophical question of our time, “Who killed reality?”

Aaron Kemp, Ph.D. is a philosopher, scholar, and filmmaker living in Los Angeles, California. He began his film career by directing and editing short documentaries while working on a forest service Hotshot crew in rural Northern California. Aaron has an undergraduate degree in film and video production and received his Doctorate in Mythological Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute in December of 2018. His recently published dissertation focuses on the relationship between depth psychology, film, politics, and philosophy.